Stephen Curry closes with eagle, wins American Century Championship celebrity golf tournament
STATELINE, Nev. (AP) — Stephen Curry made an 18-foot putt for eagle on the final hole to win the American Century Championship on Sunday, his first title in the celebrity tournament.
Curry, the Golden State Warriors star who made a hole-in-one on Saturday, topped it with his closing eagle on the par-5 18th hole at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course on the shores of Lake Tahoe. After the putt dropped, he tossed his hat into the air and ran into the arms of his wife, Ayesha.
“I don’t do this for a living, so it’s something you dream about,” Curry said. “I’ve been playing in this tournament for almost a decade and now I’ve got some hardware to show for it. It’s pretty special.”
The eagle was good for six points under a version of the modified Stableford scoring system. Players receive three points for a birdie, one point for a par and minus-2 points for a double bogey or worse.
Curry finished with 75 points, two ahead of runner-up Mardy Fish, a former pro tennis player who won this event in 2020. Fish was three points ahead of Curry entering the 18th but made par.
Curry went viral for the second time this weekend following his ace on the 152-yard, par-3 seventh hole.
“I was hitting the ball pretty solid, so felt I would have a chance,” Curry said. “On the putt, I was surprisingly calm. The last five feet felt like slow motion.”
Fish pulled even with Curry with birdies on three of the first six holes. He moved into the lead when Curry bogeyed the 11th, 12th and 14th.
Under conventional scoring, Curry shot 72 on Sunday. Fish had the best round of the day, a 3-under 69.
Joe Pavelski of the Dallas Stars was third with 66 points, former major league pitcher Mark Mulder was fourth and New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was fifth, one spot ahead of LPGA Tour great Annika Sorenstam.
Former pitcher Derek Lowe was seventh and defending champion Tony Romo finished eighth.
Curry is the first Black winner of the tournament in its 34-year history. He becomes the fifth active athlete to win and the first since then-Tennessee Titans kicker Al del Greco in 2000. His first-place prize of $125,000 will be donated to charity because Curry is an amateur golfer.
Charles Barkley finished 81st in the 93-player field.
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